Blue Jay

The fifth release in Canada Post's handsome Birds of Canada series features four dramatically diverse winged animals: the Canada warbler, Pacific loon, osprey and blue jay. This set of four domestic-rate stamps will be available in a pane of 20, a self-adhesive booklet of 12, regular and signed uncut press sheets and on an Official First Day Cover to be cancelled at Lindsay, Ontario.

Blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
Blue jays are usually thought of as migratory birds, but more and more of them seem willing to winter in the snow as long as there are feeders available ­ even at the northern periphery of their range. Their voice ­ while capable of a pleasant song ­ is more recognized for being loud and raucous, though during the breeding season, the blue jay is inconspicuous and almost silent until the young leave the nest. The female incubates the clutch of four to six eggs over seventeen or eighteen days and the young birds can fly and leave the nest within two weeks of hatching. The blue jay is omnivorous, meaning it will eat almost anything it can find. It is clever and adept at removing the hard scales from sunflower seeds or cracking open small nuts, using its bill and feet. A fierce predator, the blue jay will occasionally take the eggs and young from the nests of small birds.